Cine Kids - The Role of Disney Princesses in Empowering Young Girls

Introduction

First of all, I'm sorry that there hasn't been any Cine Kids blog for the past weeks. Unfortunately, I'm facing some shitty health issues which are preventing me to sit behind my computer most of the day. Today I felt good enough to write a post about a topic that I thought of weeks ago, namely the impact of Disney Princesses in empowering young girls. The topic came to mind when I saw another example of my daughter putting a princess on a pedestal making me wonder if there's a pattern in this behavior. I decided to dig online for some answers. I will share them with you today.

Princesses

Being a female myself, I remember that during my childhood playing with my friends that we always wanted to play one of the Disney Princesses. Usually, we'd divide roles based on our hair color, lol. I think this is still a thing nowadays if you look at Frozen for example, I remember my daughter coming home saying she was playing Elsa because of her blonde hair, haha. I guess some things never change.

Before I went online to explore answers to my question about the role of Disney Princesses in empowering young girls, I suspected that they may play a much bigger role in poor families or countries where the children don't really have much perspective for their future. Dreaming away watching their favorite Disney Princess may be the only little thing they can use to dream about a positive future. It's sad to realize but I guess it's reality in several parts of the world where they don't have the same resources as in the richer parts of the world.

Movies inspire to imagine

In general, the movies we watch as a child inspire us to use our imagination. There are so many examples I could use here, not just coming from Disney's Princesses because honestly, a lot of them come from male characters as well. It's only logical when watching a movie about an evil stepmother being mean to a young girl that a girl who is not happy because of a dysfunctional family can relate and starts to see that character in the movie as their example when they overcome their hardship.

Stereotypes

Disney Princesses used to be a stereotype but Disney has evolved, introducing princesses who are intelligent, brave, and independent. Take Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" as an example. She loves books and dreams of adventure, teaching us that being smart is just as powerful as a magic wand. These characters show young girls that they don't need to conform to traditional roles of society but can write their own destinies, regardless of society's expectations.

Inner beauty

Beyond their outer beauty, Disney Princesses emphasize the importance of inner beauty. Cinderella's kindness, Ariel's curiosity, and Pocahontas's connection with nature show children that their beauty comes from within. I believe this is a very important message for girls who aren't guided well enough by their parents to look beyond the beauty standards of society. Disney Princesses teach them that even a princess should be kind to others, no matter what their status is.

Empathy and compassion

Empathy and compassion are values that Disney Princesses teach through their acts of kindness and selflessness. Take Snow White and Cinderella as examples. Personally, I believe we should have more of these lessons in movies for children, especially taking into account that many kids nowadays lack social skills due to the pandemic years when no contact was allowed.

Conclusion

I believe that the powerful message to empower young girls is one that we should not overlook and is one of the positive aspects of Disney's movies. Some of these life lessons, although often not taught consciously, but mostly through our unconsciousness, are going to be life-long lessons for girls even into adulthood.

Sadly, I'm well aware that in today's movies, there's also a not-so-bright and positive aspect of teaching children certain things that should (IMO) not belong in a children's movie but is meant for adults to deal with. But let's focus on the positive stuff before I hit someone's nerve.

That's all for this week. If you want to jump in on the subject, feel free to leave a comment below.

Have a great day!

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